Hello, my name is Jack.\u00a0 It looked like we were going to win the war, or at least get some real breathing room, a few months into The War.\u00a0 We had the Chinese and the Shang on the blocks, and were ready to take them out.\u00a0 We were in the position of strength.\u00a0 But then the Russians decided to step up and take sides.\u00a0 I\u2019ll never understand why they picked the losing side, but I suppose that is why we\u2019ve always called them Crazy Ivans.\u00a0 They\u2019ve never made sense to us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The British fleet spread out around Jack\u2019s Avenger starfighter, battleships and dreadnoughts making up the heart of the fleet.\u00a0 Cruisers, destroyers, and corvettes deployed in a spherical formation around them, one hundred warships in all, less than four light seconds away from the Chinese world of Xin Yin in the Alpha Centauri binary star system.\u00a0 Hundreds of fighters flew through and outside the fleet formation, preparing to protect the fleet against any threat.<\/p>\n
Scores of other ships began to fill the Avenger\u2019s displays at a point nearly two light seconds further out from Xin Yin, some still appearing to fill out the flanks of the massive fleet.\u00a0 Hundreds of fighters boiled out of the warships, painting the plot a lurid red.\u00a0 A Nemesis drone piloted by one of Betty\u2019s clones approached the new arrivals, and the displays began to fill with information, ship classes flashing by almost faster than Jack could read.\u00a0 Almost.<\/p>\n
On top of his console, above the main displays, the twenty-centimeter tall holoforms of cybers lounged around on imaginary chairs, chatting away with each other.\u00a0 Two of them, Jasmine and Drew, sat at the edge of the group, heads together as they had a private conversation.\u00a0 The other seven cybers, all copies of Betty with modified personalities paused in their conversation as one of their number, pale-skinned Luna, stepped away in her long black dress.\u00a0 She walked over to where Betty sat in her yellow sundress and sat down next to her sister or mother or whatever it was they called each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u00a0 The Russians are coming,\u201d Luna said with a sad smile.<\/p>\n
There were some things that Jack needed explaining.\u00a0 But watching the information propagate across the displays, filling them with information about the entire Russian fleet, he knew this was one instance that he really didn\u2019t need the help with.<\/p>\n
\u201cI rather gathered that,\u201d he said in a wry tone.\u00a0 \u201cDo you have any other<\/em> helpful information?\u201d\u00a0 He licked his lips then, really hoping they weren\u2019t here to fight.\u00a0 Of course this wasn\u2019t really a good time for a vodka drinking game.\u00a0 And then there was just the feeling he had that it was inevitable now.<\/p>\n Luna shared a glance with Betty.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it appears they\u2019re blind.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh, yes.\u00a0 Blind.\u201d Jack returned.\u00a0 The transition from hyperspace to normalspace tended to do Bad Things to improperly shielded electronics.\u00a0 Or wide open organic eyeballs for that matter.\u00a0 When he\u2019d traveled to Luna as a child, he\u2019d been curious enough to override the safety glass and watch them arrive.\u00a0 Five hours later, he\u2019d still been seeing reflections of\u2026whatever it was that a ship went through.\u00a0 That had been\u2026a long time ago\u2026and he still could not accurately describe what exactly it was he\u2019d seen in that moment.\u00a0 It had been amazing and terrible at the same time though.<\/p>\n And he didn\u2019t even know if he accurately remembered it at all, or if it was just his mind trying desperately to recognize something, anything, in something that was inherently unrecognizable.\u00a0 In all two centuries of star flight, no sensor or camera had ever recorded what happened in that blink, that flash of light between hyperspace and normalspace.\u00a0 It was like the ship disappeared and reappeared and there was nothing in between the two, nothing to connect them.<\/p>\n AIs had gone insane trying to analyze it.\u00a0 The lucky people accidentally exposed to it didn’t remember anything at all.\u00a0 Jack remembered.\u00a0 At least he thought he did.\u00a0 He just could never put it to words.\u00a0 Not even thought really.\u00a0 It was beyond even his<\/em> ability to imagine, and way outside his ability to describe.\u00a0 It was like colors he couldn’t see, or sounds he could never hear.\u00a0 He\u2019d never held his eyes open during a transition since.<\/p>\n There was a lot of energy involved in leaving hyperspace, which usually ran up and down the skin of a ship making the transition.\u00a0 That was almost certainly part of the flash of light, maybe all of it.\u00a0\u00a0 It could overload sensors of any kind if they were not properly shielded, and caused static discharges throughout the ship.\u00a0 In the early days of star travel, all crewmembers had to wear insulted uniforms during the transition to avoid being shocked to protect them from the deadly effects.<\/p>\n The Peloran had shown humanity how to shield against those affects better, but they’d never helped the Russians in that way, and so they simply lagged behind the technological curve.\u00a0 They built powerful ships, strong ships, rugged ships, but ultimately the Russians simply lacked some things that the Western Alliance took for granted.\u00a0 They made up for that in the simplest Russian expedient that had saved them against every invading army outside of the Mongols.\u00a0 Quantity after all, truly did<\/em> have a quality all its own.<\/p>\n As static electricity flowed up and down the Russian warships, blinding every sensor they had, the Russians did what the Russians always did.\u00a0 They bypassed the problem.\u00a0 Their fighters, insulated inside their hangers during the transition, launched into space to see what was there.\u00a0 Their sensors were not as powerful as the Russian warships, but there were a lot of fighters, and they transmitted everything they saw back to their motherships.\u00a0 AI minds, protected deep inside the cores of the Russian ships, assimilated the data, showed it to their Russian masters, and began to react to what they saw.<\/p>\n They opened fire on Luna\u2019s drone.\u00a0 She did a very good job of dodging the vast majority of the weapons fire, but when thousands of weapons opened up on a single target, dodging ninety nine out of a hundred still meant that far too many made contact.\u00a0 The Nemesis simply ceased to exist.<\/p>\n \u201cFraking Ivans,\u201d Jack growled.<\/p>\n Luna sighed.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Sorry about that.\u00a0 But at least now we know whether they are friendly or not.\u00a0 Guess I\u2019ll check out for now.\u00a0 Good luck.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot your fault.\u00a0 You got us good info,\u201d Jack said quickly, wanting to get her attention before she left. \u00a0\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n Luna smiled.\u00a0 \u201cYou are welcome,\u201d she whispered before flickering out, leaving him with Betty and the cyber pilots of the remaining eight drones.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was nice,\u201d Betty whispered with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was true,\u201d Jack answered, shrugging towards her.<\/p>\n Betty\u2019s smile grew, a knowing look in her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cOf course it was.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack grunted.\u00a0 \u201cThe real question is why they\u2019re crazy enough to pick the losing side.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded towards the displays showing the Russian fleet accelerating towards them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d guess they think they aren\u2019t on the losing side,\u201d Betty said, her smile turning grim.\u00a0 She waved at a display that showed fifty of the Shang and Chinese warships beginning to accelerate out of orbit, climbing up out of the gravity well.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, this is going to suck,\u201d Jack whispered.\u00a0 \u201cHow<\/em> long before the Brits can dive again?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFive minutes.\u201d\u00a0 She did not seem happy with that number.\u00a0 Jack ran the numbers in his head and pursed his lips.\u00a0 She was right not to be happy.<\/p>\n \u201cThen I guess we\u2019ll be shooting some Ivans and Wangs.\u00a0 Pull the drones back to point defense formation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOn it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack watched the British fleet respond to the threat, fighters and destroyers deploying between the capital ships and the Russians.\u00a0 He glanced at the displays showing the Cowboys maneuvering as well and nodded as he reached for the control stick.\u00a0 A quick twist spun them around to face the incoming Russians as they continued to maintain course with the British.<\/p>\n \u201cCould you bring everything up please?\u201d Jack asked, glancing at the displays that showed a number of their weapons greyed out.<\/p>\n Betty smiled.\u00a0 \u201cWell, since you ask so nicely.\u201d\u00a0 The display showed the laser turret dropping down out of the nose, and the lasers deploying from it.\u00a0 \u201cLasers online,\u201d Betty reported in a soft tone as the displays showed all three gravitic cannons extending from the wings and nose.\u00a0 \u201cGrav cannons online.\u201d\u00a0 The missile pods extended out of the main fuselage and rotated back and forth to make certain they were operational.\u00a0 \u201cMissiles online.\u00a0 All weapons are online,\u201d Betty finished with a satisfied smile.<\/p>\n Jack shivered as the sound of her voice rolled over him.\u00a0 \u201cOooh, I like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty laughed at him, shaking her head.<\/p>\n \u201cYou did that on purpose, didn\u2019t you?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n She gave him an innocent look.<\/p>\n And then the displays flashed as the Russians began to open fire.\u00a0 Missiles exploded from their flanks, sweeping around to wash over the British fleet.\u00a0 Jack grabbed the controls, took a deep breath, and let every conscious thought he had go away.\u00a0 He became the moment, and felt as much as saw the Russians missiles meet British counter-missiles and lasers defense batteries as Betty began to move their fighter and drones in a complex random pattern to make them hard to hit.<\/p>\n Nothing made it through, but the Russians continued to close and Jack began to move the stick whenever he felt like it, adding his own organic randomness to the evasive maneuvers, as the British responded with a full broadside of missiles.\u00a0 Russian fighters flew in ahead of another missile salvo and Jack shifted the fighter to port to avoid it as their lasers chattered away at them.\u00a0 The remaining eight Nemesis drones echoed his movements, sweeping missiles out of space as the British fighters met their counterparts in flurries of destruction.\u00a0 The grav cannons opened up from every drone, cutting into the Russian formation.\u00a0 Five of the Russian fighters exploded or ripped apart under the assault, as the British missiles began to arrive in the Russian fleet.\u00a0 Like the Russian missiles, nothing broke through the point defense at this range.<\/p>\n The Russians continued to close the range though, and the missiles on both sides drew closer before being shot down.\u00a0 Finally the displays showed Katy\u2019s fighter and drones pull up or dip below the Vanguard<\/em> and counter-missile fire began to stream out to meet the Russian attack.\u00a0 The incoming missiles exploded far away from the Vanguard<\/em> and her escorts, though many of the destroyers and smaller warships began to suffer hits that left them streaming wreckage.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Mischief,\u201d Jack said as he kept his concentration on not being where some enemy missile wanted to be.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019ve got your back, Boss,\u201d Katy responded.<\/p>\n As missiles passed back and forth between the two fleets in a never-ending stream of explosions, the Russians closed to within a light second.\u00a0 Massive spinal gravitic cannons opened up, stabbing into the British fleet.\u00a0 They missed the wildly evading warships though, unable to accurately track from that distance and time delay.\u00a0 The British returned fire with larger numbers of broadside-mounted gravitic turrets, but beyond ripping apart some unlucky missiles they achieved only similar accuracy as the Russians.<\/p>\n Jack flicked the controls to the side because he felt like it as Betty locked onto a distant Russian target and opened fire with all three gravitic cannons.\u00a0 Her drones joined in, sweeping space around the Russian cruiser with lances of twisted gravity.\u00a0 Maneuvering thrusters kept their target moving in random directions, but one gravitic cannon managed to sweep over the Russian.\u00a0 At that range, the Russian deflection grid practically ignored the attack, stopping it without so much as a twitch in power levels.<\/p>\n \u201cGood hit,\u201d Jack complimented her.<\/p>\n \u201cToo bad it didn\u2019t hurt them,\u201d she growled back as their lasers flashed, intercepting more incoming missiles.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, they\u2019ll get closer,\u201d Jack said, his tone more grim than he\u2019d meant it to be.<\/p>\n Betty grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, not worried about that.\u00a0 They seem rather determined on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack winced as a Russian gravitic cannon smashed into a British destroyer.\u00a0 The deflection grid flashed for an instant before failing, and the gravitic beam passed into and through the British ship, ripping it apart from the inside.\u00a0 A gravitic turret caught by the assault overloaded and exploded, slashing the destroyer from stem to stern, and then another followed it.\u00a0 Finally the destroyer broke in half and began to drift out of formation, streaming atmosphere and wreckage.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it would appear that they are,\u201d Jack said in a grim tone and pulled the throttle to the side, engaging the thrusters that sent them sliding to port.\u00a0 A second later, a swarm of missiles came flying by, trying desperately to claw their way to him.\u00a0 Most of them fell to the laser turret and the rest charged towards the Vanguard<\/em> only to be shot down by the dreadnought\u2019s inner defensive ring of point defense turrets.<\/p>\n Another swarm of missiles flashed past him from behind, boiling out to meet more incoming Russian missiles in a roiling wave of explosions and Jack moved them to the side again.\u00a0 The Russians were closer now.\u00a0 A quick glance at the displays showed the Chinese and Shang were closer too, building up a speed that would see them shooting past the battle in less than a minute if they kept accelerating.\u00a0 Of course, sometimes that was all you needed.<\/p>\n He glanced over at another display showing the British and Russian fighters in between the two fleets.\u00a0 The Russians were slower and less accurate, but they had heavier armor, weapons, and numbers on their side, an advantage that was telling.\u00a0 The British fighters were beginning to fall back towards the fleet in disarray, one or two at first, and more as the seconds went by.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Chief,\u201d Jack said, nodding to Betty to transmit his words to Charles.\u00a0 \u201cShould we be doing something about those fighters?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d came the response.\u00a0 \u201cEverything\u2019s going according to plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Jack raised an eyebrow as he studied the displays, then swung them around on a whim.\u00a0 \u201cIt looks to me like they\u2019re about to break and run,\u201d he finally said.<\/p>\n \u201cYes it does,\u201d was all Charles returned with.\u00a0 He sounded pleased.<\/p>\n \u201cAh,\u201d Jack whispered as he connected the dots in his mind.\u00a0 So that was the plan.\u00a0 \u201cRight.\u00a0 Got yah.\u201d\u00a0 He jammed the throttle over and the Avenger shot to starboard as a lance of twisting gravity passed by the fighter.\u00a0 Jack whistled at how close that had been.<\/p>\n \u201cYou OK?\u201d Charles asked, his voice betraying concern.<\/p>\n Jack winced as he glanced at a display that showed some stress fractures on the port wing.\u00a0 \u201cYeah.\u00a0 They singed me a bit but we\u2019re still flying.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen keep it up.\u00a0 We\u2019re about to get busy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGot it, Chief,\u201d Jack finished, paused for a bit and pulled up on the throttle, sending the Avenger straight up.\u00a0 Missiles came screaming by as the Avenger\u2019s lasers chattered at them.\u00a0 The gravitic cannons spoke again, playing across the Russian cruiser again with two beams this time.\u00a0 It shrugged them off with ease, though when several British cannons hit it a second later the Russian\u2019s deflection grid flickered.\u00a0 It held, but Jack knew it was only a matter of time before casualties began to mount.<\/p>\n As if on queue with his thoughts, three Russian destroyers bracketed a British cruiser, ripping her nose off with one lucky hit.\u00a0 Jack winced.\u00a0 Those Russian gravitic cannons were powerful, possibly even more powerful than the Peloran cannons.\u00a0 The British deflection grids didn\u2019t seem capable of stopping them.\u00a0 That was going to lead to serious troubles once the Russians found the range.<\/p>\n \u201cHere they come,\u201d Betty said and Jack shifted his eyes back to the display showing the fighters.<\/p>\n The British fighters had finally broken and were falling back en masse.\u00a0 The Russians accelerated to follow, but the British were simply faster and they quickly escaped the deadly knife-fighting range the engagement had begun in.\u00a0 They streamed back towards the British formation, and the Russian fighters reformed their scattered squadrons as they led the main Russian fleet into a more decisive firing range.<\/p>\n \u201cStill going according to plan, Chief?\u201d Jack asked as the Russian gravitic cannons and missiles scored hits on several British ships, ripping another destroyer apart.\u00a0 The Russians had yet to lose a single warship, and the fighter formation was doing its job well.\u00a0 And then there were the Chinese and Shang approaching firing range from the planet.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Jester,\u201d came the patient response.<\/p>\n Jack chewed his lip for a moment as he studied the displays.\u00a0 \u201cIs it too early to say the plan sucks?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Charles answered, a hint of grim amusement in his tone. \u00a0\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n The displays showed a situation going from bad to worse, with three minutes left on the countdown before they could even consider diving out of the battle.\u00a0 They needed to do something quick if they were going to stop this from turning into a disaster.\u00a0 He could feel it in his bones.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat.\u00a0 Tell me when it\u2019ll stop sucking, please.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReal quick, actually,\u201d Charles returned.<\/p>\n Betty shifted, unfolding and then crossing her legs the other way to get his attention.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re getting priority targets now,\u201d she announced, nodding towards the appropriate display.<\/p>\n Jack followed her motion and smiled as he saw the lights propagate across the display.\u00a0 \u201cNice,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n \u201cSo glad you approve,\u201d Charles said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n Jack looked at Betty and she gave him an innocent smile.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t meant for her to transmit that bit.\u00a0 She shrugged.<\/p>\n He sighed and held his gaze on Betty.\u00a0 \u201cJust tell me when.\u201d<\/p>\n Betty relaxed and looked over at the other cybers.\u00a0 They looked at her, nodded, and flickered out, leaving the console empty except for her.\u00a0 Then she cocked her head to the side and nodded one more time.<\/p>\n \u201cCowboy One to all Cowboys,\u201d Charles said in a clear tone as the British fighters continued to retreat from the Russians, returning to the fleet.\u00a0 \u201cBreak in three\u2026two\u2026one\u2026break<\/em>!\u201d he finished with a shout and Jack slammed the throttle forward.<\/p>\n Around him the displays showed every Cowboy, fighter and drone, exploding away from the British battleships and dreadnoughts they were protecting to accelerate past the fleeing fighters.\u00a0 Jack licked his lips as British missiles arced around their formation and accelerated towards the Russians.\u00a0 The plots cleared and for the first time absolutely nothing flew between Jack and the enemy.\u00a0 He swallowed, flicked the stick to the right as several Russian missiles tried to track him, and saw the Nemesis and Wildcat drones boiling past the Cowboy fighters.<\/p>\n And then the British fighters stopped running.\u00a0 They spun around as if on queue, paused a second to finalize their firing solutions, and a salvo of missiles boiled out from them that caused Jack to wince as they past his fighter in a torrent of fusion-powered flames.<\/p>\n \u201cFire!\u201d Charles shouted and Jack\u2019s Avenger shook as their new missile batteries spoke in anger for the first time.\u00a0 All three gravitic cannons erupted, twisting the very fabric of space between them and their targets.\u00a0 Even their lasers switched to constant fire, strobing their targets as quickly as they could cycle without overheating the systems.\u00a0 Every Cowboy fighter and drone followed suit, opened up with every weapon they had, filling space between them and the Russians with missiles, roiling gravity waves, and a steady stream of lasers.<\/p>\n The Russian fighter formation exploded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hello, my name is Jack.\u00a0 It looked like we were going to win the war, or at least get some real breathing room, a few months into The War.\u00a0 We had the Chinese and the Shang on the blocks, and[…]↓ Read the rest of this entry…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2304-forge-of-war-1stdraft","uentry","postonpage-1","odd","post-author-jack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1248"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1863,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1248\/revisions\/1863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jackofharts.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}